Rye Republicans Start 2009 Election Cycle

I nominate WryRecord. He has all the answers!!!

Ha! Why do we need an election?

We already now have a very highly paid “advisor” on the public dime who can close the door with the current administration and get them to agree to step into almost any litigious mess. C’mon! That’s the new spirit of Rye

God bless us every one.

(Even you naughty Republicans.)

good god ….. isn’t there anybody left in Rye worried how runaway tax increases is going to destroy their home values faster than current financial crisis ? How we can’t possibly survive paying teachers 6 figures and give them pensions that would make many upper middle class folks envious ? if we can’t , we are surely doomed and it will take a real conservative republican to do it .

How about running Mr. Floatie for Mayor? He may not be able to handle the budget, union issues, or flooding, but I guarantee you he will do a better job on the environmental issues then mayor Otis has done. I commend him for passing the leaf blower law but what about the bigger issues? How about stopping the real floaties? You will never move up the ladder this way Mr. Mayor. Mr. Floatie will follow you throughout you entire career. You may become known as Mayor Floatieotis.

I think Mr.Floatieoatie is a cute nickname for the mayor.

What a joke – As a party leader, Piscionere should be ashamed of his actions in the election. Why doesn’t he resign? Does he really think he’ll be able to find anyone willing to trust him? Mr. Floatie would never stoop to working with such a stinky group!
There’s corruption and incompetence at EVERY level of government – time for change, at the national, state, county and local level.

As Mayor I never would have signed the agreement Otis gave to Shew. NEVER. Or the 211 waiver for Connors so he can collect his full NYPD pension and full City of Rye salary at the same time. Without the waiver it would be illegal. So who is Connors loyal to? Shew and Otis when it should be the residents and the Police Officers who protect and serve those residents.

I am including Shew’s agreement for your review. Kindly pass it around to other Rye taxpayers. Check out the parts where he doesn’t have to come to work, he got 86 free sick days his first day on the job and unlimited use of a taxpayer provided vehicle including to and from his house in Massachusetts. Oh yea, he gets an extra pension too.

I will be posting Connors 211 Waiver in the near future. If this doesn’t make you laugh, nothing will.

Employment Agreement between Paul Shew and City of Rye.

THIS AGREEMENT made and entered into this day of

_____ 2003, by and between the City of Rye, State of New York, a municipal corporation hereinafter called “Employer” as party of the first part, and O. Paul Shew, as party of the second part, both of whom understand as follows:

WITNESSETH:

WHEREAS, Employer desires to employ the services of said o. Paul Shew as City Manager of the City of Rye; and

WHEREAS, it is the desire of the governing board, hereinafter called “Council” to provide certain benefits, to establish certain conditions of employment, and to set working conditions of said

Employee; and

WHEREAS, Employee desires to accept employment as City Manager of said City of Rye; and

WHEREAS, The parties acknowledge that Employee is a member of the International City/County Management Association (leMA) and that Employee is subject to the leMA Code of Ethics;

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants herein contained, the parties agree as follows:

Section 1: Duties

Emplnyer herehy agree! to employ said O. Paul Shew as City Manager of !aid Employer to pe.rform the functions and duties specified in the Rye City Charter and further enumerated in the City Code and to perform other legally permissible and proper duties and functions as the Council shall from

time to time assign.

Section 2: Term

The tenn of this agreement shall commence on August 25, 2003.

A. Employee agrees to remain in the exclusive employ of Employer, and neither to accept other employment nor to become employed by any other employer.

B. Nothing in this agreement shall prevent, limit or otherwise interfere with the right of the Council to terminate the services of Employee at any time, subject only to the provisions set forth in Section 3, paragraphs A and B, of this agreement.

C. Nothing in this agreement shall prevent, limit or otherwise interfere with the right of the Employee to resign at any time from his position with Employer, subject only to the provision set forth in Section 3, paragraph B of this agreement.

Section 3: Termination and Severance Pay

A. In the event Employee is terminated for any reason, other than conviction of a crime, Employer agrees to pay Employee six months compensation as severance pay. For the purposes of this section, compensation shall include amounts set forth in this agreement, or amendments thereto.

R In the event Employee voluntarily resigns his position with Employer during the period of bis employment, then Employee shall give Employer three months notice in advance, unless the parties otherwise agree in writing.

Section 4: Salary

Employee agrees to pay Employee for his services rendered pursuant hereto in annual base salary of $140,000 payable in installments at the same time as other management employees of the Employer are paid.

In addition, Employer agrees to increase said base salary and/or benefits of Employee in such amounts and to such extent as the Council may determine that it is desirable to do so on the basis of an annual salary review of said Employee made at the same time as similar consideration is given other employees generally.

Section 5: Performance Evaluation

The Mayor and Council will meet annually with the Employee to identify specific performance goals for the following year. The Mayor and Council shall review and evaluate the perfomlance of the Employee at least once per year based upon the goals established by the Mayor and Council and other specific criteria developed jointly by Employer and Employee. Said criteria may be added to or deleted as the Mayor and Council may from time to time determine, in consultation with the Employee. During the first year of employment the review, evaluation and discussion shall OCcur at least once every six months.

Section 6: Hours of Work

Both Employer and Employee recognize that the duties of City Manager require a great deal of time outside of normal office hours. It is also recognized by the parties that Employee is required to devote the amount of time and energy necessary to carry out those duties with the highest amount of professionalism possible. That being the case, the parties recognize that Employee may choose to take personal time off during business hours when it is appropriate and when his duties allow. Although this personal time off is not considered vacation, neither is it to be considered as compensatory time for time spent by Employee in carrying out his duties outside of nomlal office hours, as the parties agree that Employee must devote the amount of time necessary to fulfill those duties.

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Section 7: Automobile

Employee’s duties require that he shall have the exclusive and unrestricted use at all times during :his employment with Employer of an automobile provided to him by the Employer. Employer shall be responsible for paying for liability, property damage, and comprehensive insurance, and for the purchase, operation, maintenance, repair, and regular replacement of said automobile.

Section 8: Retirement

Employee shall participate in the New York Public Employees Retirement System, subject to the rules and regulations of the Plan.

In addition, Employer agrees to execute all necessary agreements provided by lCMA Retirement Corporation (IeMA-RC) for Employer’s participation in said ICMA-RC retirement plan and, in addition to the base salary paid by the Employer to the Employee, Employer agrees to annually pay $11,400 into the ICMA-RC on Employee’s behalf, in equal proportionate amounts each pay period, and to transfer ownership to succeeding employers upon Employee’s resignation or termination. The parties shall fully disclose to each other the financial impact of any amendment to the terms of Employee’s retirement benefit.

Section 10: Dues, Subscriptions and Professional Development

A. Employer agrees to budget for and to pay for professional dues and subscriptions of Employee necessary for his continuation and full participation in national, regional, state, and local associations and organizations necessary and desirable for his continued professional participation, growth, and advancement, and for the good of the Employer.

B. Employer hereby agrees to budget for and to pay for travel and subsistence expenses of Employee for professional and official travel, meetings and occasions, adequate to continue the professional development of Employee and to adequately pursue necessary official functions for Employer, including but not limited to the ICMA Annual Conference, the state league of municipalities, and such other national, regional, state, and local governmental groups and committees thereof which Employee serves as a member.

C. Employer also agrees to budget for and to pay for travel and subsistence expenses of Employee for short courses, institutes, and seminars that are necessary for hislher professional development and for the good of the Employer.

Section 10: Indemnification

In addition to that required under state and local law, Employer shall defend, save harmless, and indemnify Employee against any tort, professional liability claim or demand or other legal action, whether groundless or otherwise, except for acts of gross negligence or intentional tort arising out of an alleged act or omission occurring in the performance of Employee’s duties as city manager. Employer will compromise and settle any such claim or suit and pay the amount of any settlement of judgment rendered thereon.

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Section 11: Bonding

Employer shall bear the full cost of any fidelity or other bonds required of the Employee under any law or ordinance.

Section 12: Other Terms and eonditions of Employment

A. The Council, in consultation with the manager, shall fix any such other tenns and conditions of employment, as it may detennine from time to time, relating to the perfonnance of Employee, provided such terms and conditions are not inconsistent with or in conflict with the provisions of this agreement, the City of Rye charger or any other law.

B. All provision of the City of Rye charter and code, and regulations and rules of the Employer relating to vacation and sick leave, retirement and pension system contributions, holidays, and other benefits and working conditions as they now exist or hereafter may be amended, also shall apply to Employee as they would to other administrative pay group employees of Employer, in addition to said benefits enumerated, specifically for the benefit of Employee except as herein provided.

C. Employee shall be entitled to receive the same vacation and sick leave benefits as are accorded department heads with 20 years of service, including provisions governing accrual and payment therefor on termination of employment. In addition, Employee will be credited with 86 days of accrued sick leave as of the effective date of this contract.

Section 13: No Reduction of Benefits

Employer shall not at any time during the term of this agreement reduce the salary, compensation or other financial benefits of Employee, except to the degree of such a reduction across-the-board for all employees of the Employer. If at any time during the term of this agreement Employer violates this principle, the Employee may, at his option, be deemed to be “terminated” at the date of such reduction for the purposes of severance pay provisions.

Section 14: General Provisions

A. The text herein shall constitute the entire agreement between the parties.

B. This agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the heirs at law and executors of Employee.

C. This agreement shall become effective commencing August 25, 2003.

D. If any provision, or any portion thereof, contained in this agreement is held unconstitutional, invalid or unenforceable, the remainder of this agreement, or portion thereof, shall be deemed severable, shall not be affected, and shall remain in full force and effect.

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O~/~5/~DD3 1~:46 31~g415940

JUN-25-2003 11 : S8 CITY OF RYE NY

PAGE 8:

914 96? 46@4 P. 02

IN ‘VlTNESS WHEREOF the Cil}’ of Rye has cDused this agreement (0 be signed and executed in it! behalf by irs Mayor, and duly attested by its city clerk .. and the Employee has sign~d and execu t ed this agreemenr. both indupUc2te the d!1Y and yc:lf first above writ!~n .

. ~ttr’.

Steven Otis, J4ayor

O. Paul· Shew

ATTEST

.’

City Clerk (Seal)

APPROVED AS TO FO’R..”1:

Corporation Counsel

So, Mr WryRecord, are you going to be our mayor? If so, are you willing to suck up to Piscionere and Mckean?

I don’t suck up to anyone.

I happen to like and respect Tony Piscionere.

I have absolutely no use for McKean. I thought he moved to Arizona and that’s why he didn’t run for re-election? He’s back?

Rye Police Commissioner receives a 211 Waiver which allows him to collect his full NYPD pension and his full City of Rye pay at the same time. Without the Waiver he could not legally do this. With Connors very lucrative 211 Waiver hanging over his head every two years, Connors is essentially beholden to the people who get him the Waiver, Shew and Otis.

211 Waivers are supposed to be temporary and are only granted for two years. Connors has received a Waiver every two years since 2000. This hardly seems temporary. There is also supposed to be recruiting done to look for others who could do the Police Commissioner job. From what I have seen, this has never been done by the City of Rye. Instead, they argue Connors is uniquely qualified because the City of Rye needs him to defend all the litigation he has caused to be filed because of his own incompetence, mismanagement and bias. As crazy as that may sound, it appears to me to be true.

B. The Statute

Pre-October 7, 2008 Statutory Criteria
Prior to Chapter 640, in order to obtain a 211 waiver the prospective employer of a retiree had to submit an application which contains detailed reasons to demonstrate that:

1. The retired person is duly qualified, competent and physically fit to perform the duties of the position in which he or she is to be employed.

2. There is need for his or her services.

3. There are not readily available for recruitment other qualified persons if he or she is to earn more than $1,000.

4. His or her employment is in the best interest of the government service.

In my opinion Connors doesn’t meet some of the criteria listed in 1 thru 4 to be eligible for the 211 Waiver.

You “happen to like and respect Piscionere”… sounds like you’re already sucking up for that Mayorship! I can understand it though, b/c if he selects you, your pretty much mayor. He and Doug aren’t much for giving the public a choice.

Is Mayor Floatieoatie thinking of running again or is he just going to run out of Dodge with his tail between his legs?

Let’s all hope Mr. Flotis runs out of Dodge and takes Shew, Plunkett and Connors with him.